State forms med board to monitor treatment of docs

Kolkata: The state Health department has directed the medical colleges and hospitals to form a multi-disciplinary medical board which will monitor the treatment of the junior doctors who have been admitted to various medical colleges after undergoing the hunger strike.

The department aims to keep a tab on the health condition of junior doctors.

Health secretary NS Nigam issued directives saying that reports relating to the treatment of these junior doctors have to be submitted to Swasthya Bhawan twice a day.

Principals of the medical colleges have also been asked to personally monitor the treatment of these junior doctors. Many of these junior doctors are undergoing treatment at the ICU. About three junior doctors are currently undergoing treatment at the hospitals while one doctor was released on Thursday. As many as seven junior doctors are undergoing a hunger strike at Esplanade.

Incidentally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Health secretary NS Nigam at her residence enquiring about the progress of works being carried out at all the medical colleges to enhance security arrangements for the doctors, nursing personnel and health workers. Meanwhile, the agitating junior doctors under the fold of the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF) have called a ‘yatra for justice’ from Sodepur to Esplanade on Saturday demanding justice for the RG Kar victim. Parents of the RG Kar victim will take part in the rally, sources said.

“We are organising a march from the Sodepur residence of our colleague, who was raped and murdered, to our protest site at Esplanade. We are calling this ‘yatra for justice’. We will call upon every individual in solidarity with our hunger strike to arrange for similar yatras,” said a junior doctor.